“The most important citizens in the world.”
That is how Harry Ferguson described farmers at a 1943 conference that led to the formation of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation. His words echo down the decades to a time when the world is facing just as great, or arguably an even greater challenge, to feed itself.
Ferguson's motivation for building machines was to provide farmers across the world with the means to produce food and fuel to a growing world population. “Today we have the case of the farmer, who is the most important citizen in the whole world, still conducting his business by slavery and manual work, whereas in the factory work is done by 'finger-tip' control,” Ferguson told the 1943 conference. “This is all wrong. Agriculture should have been the first industry to be modernised and not the last.”
When he said that there were 2.5 billion people living on earth, just 15 years later when Massey Ferguson was born there were nearly 3 billion. Today there are 6.6 billion people with an extra 200,000 mouths to feed every day. By 2050 the global total is expected to have topped 9 billion.
All parts of the war-torn world responded magnificently to Ferguson’s call 65 years ago. Massey Ferguson tractors led the way, backed by advances in crop and animal science. For many developed countries the problem became too much food rather than too little, although many poorer countries remained hungry.
But the world's larder is fast emptying. As well as the extra mouths to feed, more of the world's population is getting a taste for meat, increasing the demand for grains for animal feed. The UN predicts that within just the next eight years global meat demand will have risen by a 30%. Meanwhile, a global push to replace fossil fuels with greener biofuels has driven up the demand for cereals and oil crops. In the USA a quarter of all the corn (maize) grown is already converted into bioethanol.
These production pressures are happening against the background of a changing climate that alters where and how crops can be grown and livestock kept.
So what are the challenges facing the world's farmers and Massey Ferguson as it provides the technology so they desperately need?
The philosphy of Massey Ferguson's parent company AGCO is “Always Growing”. It sums up the challenge for the world. Massey Ferguson also sums up its aim in, amongst others, the following six key words - vision; innovation; leadership; quality; support and commitment. Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGCO, puts the challenges facing us all like this: “The world's farmers need to produce food and fuel at an unprecedented rate. We have an obligation to provide them with the technology to ensure they meet that challenge.”
Vision
Much of the growth in the world population will take place in Africa and Asia. Overpopulation and pressure on land will affect production. The population is also becoming increasingly urban. The UN recently announced that for the first time in history there are now more people living in towns and cities around the world than in rural areas.
Feeding this urban population increases the burden on the declining number of farmers. As AGCO’s global brand, Massey Ferguson tractors, combines and equipment are in the ideal position to help meet that challenge.
A horse or ox drawn plough can cover just one acre a day. Even the smallest Massey Ferguson 240 tractor can cover more than ten times that area in a day. At the other end of the scale, the Massey Ferguson 9895 combine harvester can harvest more than 700 tonnes of grain a day.
Innovation
The challenge is not just to produce enough food but to do it in a way that allows production long into the future.
Harry Ferguson believed that new technology would give farmers the means to produce food efficiently and cheaply. His three-point linkage system along with Massey and Harris harvesting and tractor developments were among the most important technical developments of the 20th Century. This equipment pioneered the concept of power farming, bringing large areas of land into more successful production, more economically and with less labour.
It is the spirit of innovation of the founding fathers – Daniel Massey, Alanson Harris and Harry Ferguson – that is still the force that drives Massy Ferguson forward today.
A new generation of Tier III engines have increased efficiency, saving farmers money and reducing carbon emissions. These engines can now be run on biodiesel, further reducing the tractor’s impact on the environment.
Precision farming technology is also revolutionising production. Massey Ferguson was the first tractor company to use electronic systems to make tractor use easier and more effective.
Meanwhile, Global Positioning System-based precision farming technology reduces the number of passes tractors and harvesters need to make when establishing a crop, caring for it and harvesting it.
Maximising production, while minimising impact on land, water and resources is increasingly important. Agriculture uses nearly 70% of the world’s water resources and the UN says that water scarcity already affects 40% of the world’s population. It also estimates that by 2025 1.8 billion people will be living in conditions of severe water poverty. It is also estimated that the world already uses 90% of the available land it could use for agricultural production, limiting expansion.
Leadership
Just as farmers will have to take a leading role in feeding the world, then Massey Ferguson has to lead in the delivery of technical solutions.
Millions of its machines have been sold since 1958 and it currently sells a new tractor every five minutes. But in line with the founding fathers’ original vision, it still focuses on the solutions that those machines offer.
An example is the new MF 2100 big square baler, which is being used by an increasing number of users to make bales to fuel power stations. The fact that the latest version can pack 20% more straw into a standard bale helps reduce the environmental impact of the process.
Quality
Every Massey Ferguson machine is built on the founding fathers’ belief that technology should always be straightforward and reliable. Although innovative, Ferguson’s original tractors and machines, for example, could all be serviced using one universally-sized spanner.
Today farmers of all sizes need machines that can operate for long periods in a multitude of conditions. Many smaller farmers in developing nations need machines they can service themselves cheaply and easily, while larger producers in Europe, North and South America and elsewhere need confidence that the machines they are using will be as productive as possible, particularly at the crucial busy times such as drilling and harvest.
Support
Support has always been a major part of the Massey Ferguson philosophy, with spare parts and back-up available from an extensive global network of 3,500 dealers in 140 countries world-wide. This structure and the support that buyers receive when deciding which machine to buy is essential for farmers responding to the challenge to feed the world.
Elsewhere, farmers are looking to Governments to provide a business environment that will allow them to produce sustainable supplies of food and fuel crops and livestock as freely as possible. But this will require support and understanding from members of the public faced with rising food prices.
Commitment
If the world is to feed and fuel itself successfully far into the future, then it will require commitment from farmers, those who legislate them and those who provide them with the resources to do so.
It is likely that new crop and animal breeding and protection technologies will have to be developed alongside new machinery technology. Massey Ferguson has recognised this and invested more than US$150 million in its Beauvais centre in France alone in the past five years. It now houses research and development and training departments where world-leading engineers devlop farm-focused solutions and support staff learn how to bring those solutions to farms.
Although the challenges facing the world’s farmers are perhaps as great as they have ever been, it is important to realise that those challenges can be overcome. Ferguson’s vision of farmers using cutting-edge technology to provide the world with a reliable and affordable supply of food is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. Once again we can say with confidence and pride that farmers are the most important citizens of the world.
Today - The size of the challenge –
Grain gap
Despite near record production, stocks of grain are at all time lows. There are just 65 days of wheat left in stock around the world and only 55 days of all grains. Population growth, higher consumption of grain and meat products, poor world harvests and the adoption of biofuels have all contributed to the shortage.
People power
The UN predicts that just one region of the world - Europe - will have a smaller population in 2050 than it has today. Africa’s population is expected to more than double.
Population growth by region
Region 2050 (Estimate) Growth (2000-2050 est)
World 8.909bn +49%
Asia 5.268bn +44%
Africa 1.766m +130%
Latin America
(& Caribbean) 809m +58%
Europe 628m -16%
North America 392m +27%
Oceania 46m +53%
Source: UN estimates
Water wise
Oceans might account for 70% of the world’s surface, but only 3% of that water is freshwater, with just a tiny fraction of that available for human use. Farmers account for 70% of total water use and in many parts of the world water is worryingly short. Between 1998 and 2003 China’s wheat production plunged from 392 to 322 million tonnes - equivalent of Canada’s total production - as a result of depleted water supplies.
Lack of land
Only 10% of the world’s land currently grows crops, with around 20% supporting livestock. The UN believes that already 90% of land that can support production is already doing so and that 16% of farm land is degraded. Even bringing all this land into production would not support the people living in the world by 2050 at current levels of consumption and production. Either people will have to eat less, or the amount of food grown on available land will have to increase.
ENDS
About AGCO
Founded in 1990, AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AG) (www.agcocorp.com) is a global manufacturer of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment and implements, which are distributed through more than 3,000 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries worldwide. AGCO products include the following well-known brands: AGCO®, Challenger®, Fendt®, Gleaner®, Hesston®, Massey Ferguson®, RoGator®, Spra-Coupe®, Sunflower®, Terra-Gator®, Valtra®, and White™ Planters. AGCO provides retail financing through AGCO Finance. The company is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, and in 2007 had net sales of $6.8 billion.
CONTACT:
Paul Lay
Manager, Public Relations & Communications
Tel: +44 (0)2476 851209
